


The Girl with the Glasses

by jedichick04



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, missing moment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-13
Updated: 2015-09-13
Packaged: 2018-04-20 14:43:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4791149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jedichick04/pseuds/jedichick04
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The setting of the deceptively bright Foundry was familiar; the conversation felt like one that had occurred a dozen times before. Missing Moment from 3x14.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Girl with the Glasses

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Week Seventeen of the Arrow Summer Rewatch. The prompt was: Slade Wilson has just threatened Felicity in 3x14. Write about Oliver’s thoughts or about an Olicity moment that happens afterwards.
> 
> Some dialogue is taken directly from 3x10 and 3x14.

The setting of the deceptively bright Foundry was familiar; the conversation felt like one that had occurred a dozen times before.

Felicity’s blue eyes shone with worry and concern from behind her glasses as she told Oliver how worried she was Ra’s was going to use Oliver’s humanity against him. It felt as natural as breathing to nod and tell her that she was right, that he would stay instead of going to face Ra’s.

To say Felicity looked shocked that he’d agreed would be understating the matter. He wanted to laugh as she asked, “Really? Are you sure?”

But instead of laughing, he held her gaze as he told her, “I’m sure of one thing--I love you.”

The shock on Felicity’s face gave way to hope and joy of the sort he’d last seen when he’d asked her on that one fateful date. So of course he had to lean down and kiss her. The kiss didn’t last all that long, but when they parted, they shared a smile that said everything the kiss hadn’t had the time to say.

“We can’t stay here,” Oliver told her. “All of us--we’re going to have to get out of here. Ra’s will try to track us all down.” He squeezed Felicity’s hand. “But I want to stay with you, if you’ll have me.”

“Yes,” she replied with another joy-filled smile. He placed a kiss on her forehead, letting it slowly seep in that for once in his life he was being selfish, he was choosing happiness, he was choosing Felicity. That little huff of laughter he’d suppressed earlier came bubbling up as they turned towards the stairs to get out of the Foundry.

And the happiness all came crashing back down, when they saw Slade Wilson blocking their way out, sword in hand.

“Am I interrupting?” Slade sneered. “This won’t take long. I just need a moment with your _Fel-i-cit-y_.”

The way he drew out her name made Oliver’s protective instincts kick into high gear, but for some reason his body wasn’t responding; he wasn’t able to move in front of Felicity, he wasn’t lunging at Slade, he wasn’t doing _anything_ but standing there like and watching as Slade’s sword flashed and Felicity let out a scream.

She stumbled and turned, her hands going to her stomach, then coming away covered in bright red blood. Her eyes were filled with tears as she struggled to say something to Oliver--and as his body _finally_ responded to his commands and as he stepped forward to gather her into his arms, he heard Slade’s amused laughter.

“I keep my promises, kid,” Slade taunted. There was a manic gleam in his eye as his sword flashed again, only this time _he_ felt the pain as the sword ran him through. Slade’s laughter filled his eyes as Oliver reached for Felicity. But it was too late. Felicity’s dress was dark with blood, and the light was fading from her eyes--

Oliver bolted straight up. His heart was racing, his breath coming in ragged bursts.  It took longer than he'd like to admit for him to realize he was in his bed in the Foundry. He focused on his breathing, bringing it back under control. It was just another nightmare. It wasn't helped by Slade's deceptively casual question when Oliver had put him back in his cell on Lian Yu, but it was just a dream.

"Oliver?"

The last of the fog fled his mind as he turned to see Felicity at her computers. Very much breathing, not bleeding to death Felicity. Last night, he’d arrived at the cold and dark Foundry to solitude, after Thea had insisted that all she wanted was a hot shower and to sleep in her own comfortable bed.  Now Felicity’s mere presence--giving him a chance to really see she was still breathing, that Slade hadn’t harmed her--was giving Oliver the peace to soothe his troubled mind.

Felicity had a genuinely concerned look on her face. She had never been one to let them languish in uncomfortable silences, and this time was no different. "I wasn't trying to disturb you," she told him. "I didn't even know you would be here. I thought you were off with your sister, and you haven't slept here for a while--"

"We just got back,” Oliver said. He cleared his throat; his voice had sounded rough with sleep. “Thea needed some space to think. And so did I."

She nodded, her blonde ponytail swishing with the movement. She looked like she was going to turn back to her computers as Oliver pushed back the tangled blankets and swung his sweatpants covered legs over the side of the bed. But instead, something caught her gaze, making her frown. "You're hurt."

Oliver glanced down and saw the bandage on his arm. He'd hastily cleaned it out and bandaged it the previous night, but he must have reopened the wound in his sleep, since the bandage was stained red now. "Thea accidentally triggered a trap, " he explained. He ran his hand over his hair before he added, “We were on Lian Yu.”

Instead of responding with words, Felicity gestured to the med table. After a long moment, Oliver got up from the bed and hopped up onto the table, already unwrapping the soiled bandage. As she got out the medical supplies she needed, Oliver couldn’t help but think of the last time they’d been alone together, when she’d told him emphatically she didn’t want to be a woman he loved. He could no more easily stop loving her than stop breathing, but her words still cut deeply. They reminded him that the good dreams he’d been having, with the two of them escaping Starling and just _living_ , were all but impossible, because Felicity didn’t want him in her life like that. And he couldn’t blame her one bit.

“This may sting a bit,” Felicity told him when she reappeared at the table and took a good look at the wound. She began gently cleaning up the dried blood with a peroxide doused cotton ball before she wrapped his arm back up. Oliver remained quiet, only hissing once at the sharp sting. He was reminded of last year, when things had been easier between them, when she was regularly patching him up. Since Sara’s death--since Felicity had started at Palmer Tech--Oliver had reverted to taking care of the majority of his own injuries. It was just easier that way, especially since her touch reminded him of all the things he couldn’t have with her.

“Almost as good as new,” Felicity pronounced as she finished.

Oliver straightened up after glancing down at the bandage. “Thank you,” he said. He expected her to move away, but instead her eyes went to his chest.

His chest, which had the bandage over his still healing wound from his encounter with the wrong end of Ra’s al Ghul’s weapon.

"That's from the sword?"

Felicity's voice was quiet and tight, as if she was holding back a flood of emotions. Oliver nodded once in response. "It's still healing," he replied in the same quiet tone. "But it _is_ healing."

Instead of saying anything else, she took a deep breath, then gathered up the leftover supplies and went to put them away. “You took Thea on a camping trip to Lian Yu?” Felicity asked with her back turned to him.

Oliver stood up, glancing around for his grey hoodie--which, oddly, was on the table closest to Felicity’s computers. He pulled it on carefully over his newly bandaged arm, then zipped it up as he replied. “That’s what it started as,” he said. He carefully weighed what he should say next, knowing full well how sensitive the whole topic of Malcolm Merlyn was, but also not wanting to lie to Felicity. “Slade Wilson ended up escaping his cell. Thea and I got him back in it, but not before--” He took a deep breath and forced himself to say it. “Not before Thea found out she put the arrows in Sara.”

“Oh, Oliver,” Felicity whispered softly. She turned back around, facing him as she asked, “How is Thea doing?”

Oliver felt his shoulders slump. “I don’t--I don’t know. She’s angry, she’s hurt, she’s horrified. I wanted to keep her from that, from that kind of darkness. And I failed her.” He forced himself to look up at Felicity as he admitted, “Slade told me that my sister was lost. I’m going to do everything I can to prove him wrong.”

Felicity twitched like she wanted to take a step towards him, but was holding herself back. Instead, she asked a question Oliver hadn’t expected. "Did he say anything about me?"

_How’s the girl with the glasses?_

Oliver opened his mouth to tell her no, dismiss her worries--but instead found himself saying, "Yes.”

She drew herself up and gave a little nod. “Good. He should remember me. I _did_ shove that syringe in him last year.”

God, just when Oliver thought he couldn’t love her anymore. Her fierceness and pride was absolutely adorable, and helped nudge him out of his dark spiral of thoughts. “ARGUS is tripling the security. He won’t escape again.”

She took a deep breath and nodded. “Good.” She gestured towards her computers. “I’m just going to--I was setting up the searches for the day. Before I head into work. It’s been--there’s a lot going on.”

“Don’t let me stop you,” Oliver said. Felicity smiled at him as she took a seat and started typing, her fingers flying across the keyboards in a familiar rhythm. Oliver allowed himself a moment to watch her, a smile barely touching his lips. He shook his head slightly and pushed off the table he’d been leaning against. He should get a shower and go back to the loft and check on Thea.

“Oliver?”

He stopped and looked down at Felicity in her chair. She was still typing away, but she spared a glance at him. “Your sister isn’t lost. She has her brother--and _he_ has a group of people who will fight with him.”

She had turned her gaze back to her screen,  but he felt the full impact anyways. He took a deep breath--the first really full breath since he’d woken up from his nightmare--and murmured, “Thank you.”

She replied with a distracted, “You’re welcome,” as he headed for the shower.

_How many people can Oliver Queen lose before there is no more Oliver Queen?_

He hadn’t lost his sister. He hadn’t lost his team. And maybe he hadn’t lost his friendship with Felicity, despite everything.

Maybe there was still hope for Oliver Queen after all.


End file.
